US AMBASSADOR IMPRESSED WITH ACC WORK

News Item

The US Ambassador to Sierra Leone has spoken of his
admiration for the Anti-Corruption Commission for the effort and strides made
in the fight against corruption in Sierra Leone.

Speaking at his farewell engagement with journalists
at the US Embassy in Freetown, Ambassador Michael Owen said the Sierra Leone
has made serious gains in the fight against corruption especially in the past
four years.

The Ambassador’s admiration of the ACC may not be
unconnected to the fact that the Commission has been able to secure many
convictions of individuals charged with corruption offences at an unprecedented
rate in the past few years. This follows the recovery of billions of leones of
stolen money, especially the 39 billion leones recovered in 2012. Quite
recently, the intervention of the ACC to probe and prosecute officials of the
Ministry of Health accused of misappropriating GAVI funds led to the resumption
of GAVI support to the country.

Ambassador Owen said one good thing about the
country’s efforts in the fight against graft is the fact that it has been
intensifying its efforts and at the same time improving on the gains that are
being achieved.

Sierra Leone recently also qualified for the
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding. One of the eligibility criteria
for developing countries to benefit from this US funding is a country’s efforts
to combat corruption, one of the indicators Sierra Leone was able to pass to
gain qualification.

Ambassador Owen said his admiration of the work of
the ACC is something he would take with him to the American people.

The US Embassy has been providing technical supports
to the ACC.

Ambassador Owen was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador
to the Republic of Sierra Leone on August 16, 2010.Start writing here...